Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon has speed at the Brickyard.
The current NTT IndyCar Series points leader sat atop of the scoring pylon as the second day of Indianapolis 500 practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway concluded.
With under 20 minutes remaining in the six-and-a-half-hour session, the 2008 race champion took his No. 9 Honda straight to the top of the board after posting a blistering fast lap of 226.102 mph around the 2.5-mile track.
However, it was Takuma Sato who led the speed charts much of the day. The 2017 race champion had settle for second fastest when Dixon nipped him in the waning moments, but his effort still remained promising following his dismal start to the 2020 season.
Behind Dixon and Sato was Marco Andretti and hometown hero Conor Daly. Alex Palou was the fastest rookie driver after slotting in fifth. Palou also topped the charts for 30-lap average speeds.
After pacing the opening session of practice on Wednesday, James Hinchcliffe regressed in the second. 17th place was where you could find the 2016 pole winner, well off the leaders’ fast times.
Just one incident took place during the session, but it had major implications for fan-favorite Fernando Alonso. While exiting turn 4, Alonso got loose and slammed the outside wall.
As of this writing, Alonso’s team is evaluating whether to repair the damaged car or pull out the back up.
Full course yellow during practice after an on-track incident with @alo_oficial.
Currently 43 minutes remain in the session. #INDYCAR // #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/AZbSIPJXAi
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 13, 2020
While Alonso’s problems have sidelined the Spaniard, one car failed to make it to the track for the session; the No. 81 DragonSpeed entry driven by Ben Hanley was noticeably absent. Stewards barred Hanley from taking to the track since he had not yet completed his refreshers course. The Englishman was late getting into the country following travel-related issues.
Hanley sits far behind the competition, as his only on-track activity so far took place in a brief pre-practice session. The DragonSpeed team was also reporting electrical problems in the paddock.
#Indy500 #IndyCar Practice 2 Results pic.twitter.com/2mniPu1PmK
— Matt Archuleta (@indy44) August 13, 2020
The third straight day of practice continues on Aug. 14 beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Coverage will air on NBC Sports Gold.
Never at a loss for words, Zach Gillispie is a young, talented marketing professional from North Carolina who talks and writes on the side about his first love: racing! Since joining Frontstretch in 2018, Zach has served in numerous roles where he currently pens the NASCAR 101 column, a weekly piece delving into the basic nuts and bolts of the sport. Additionally, his unabashedly bold takes meshed with that trademarked dry wit of his have made Zach a fan favorite on the weekly Friday Faceoff panel. In his free time, he can be found in the great outdoors, actively involved in his church, cheering on his beloved Atlanta Braves or ruthlessly pestering his colleagues with completely useless statistics about Delma Cowart.